The Devil Made Me Do It

  Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Open up the jails! I have just seen the ultimate solution to tort reform and crowded jails.
  The other day the newspaper reported that a man killed eighteen people, yes eighteen. The man's defense was that he was a crack head, abused by his mother and raped by a social worker when he was a young boy. It wasn't his fault after all. The dealer, his mother and the social worker actually pulled the trigger.
  Like a flash of light, it came to me that we all can claim our problems are the result of the actions of people, who came before us. Following this logic to its ultimate conclusion, we discover we can all blame Adam and Eve for our problems. Cain killed Able because of his upbringing. So bulletin!: we no longer need jails, courts, judges, and lawyers. The common and unbeatable defense is now: Adam and Eve made us do it!
  Of course Adam and Eve's only defense was "the devil made me do it." Somebody made me do it? A six foot burly drunk exclaims, "my wife makes me drink". Now she is five foot two, it takes real mental power to visualize her holding him down on the floor. And it takes even more to see her pouring the drink down his throat as he desperately attempts to struggle free.
  The same struggle surfaces while reflecting back on my youth. Three boys went into a small local store, owned by a little old  and kind lady. Two decided to steal a bottle of Nehi grape soda. The third chose to sneak back and pay her the ten cents. All three lived on the same street and came from similar families. Today we know, by popular demand and acceptance, that the two who snatched the sodas did so because of something negative in their background or families. What on earth caused the third boy to do a good act? Today we aren't sure.
  Sixty some years ago, the little boy who paid the dime did so because he felt sorry for the little old lady. She worked so hard and was kind to all of them many times. From the time he first left the store his conscience wouldn't leave him alone. The other two seem to have no conscience. They got what they wanted and to heck with the old lady. They even made fun of the third boy for going back. In fact they resented him. They were concerned only for themselves, he was concerned for others.
  Who made them that way? The two who stole the Nehi came from families with a father and mother, brothers and sisters, with their own homes and no real trauma in life. The third boy couldn't remember his real father, lived in basement home and was raped by a neighbor at age six. According to what is in the news these days this story is all wrong. This boy made a moral decision and took responsibility in the middle of an immoral setting, where the majority were acting irresponsibly.
  Today he could have gone back and brutally attacked, raped and killed the old lady, before turning on his friends in rage and killing them under stress. A good lawyer and a sympathetic jury would easily see that his father, who abandoned him and his sister, the neighbor who traumatized him and the modest living quarters were more than enough to justify his actions. In fact they probably would award him millions from Nehi Beverages for making sodas that would entice young boys to steal.
  God holds each person responsible for there own actions. The devil cannot make anyone do anything. The only power anyone has over another is the power to influence. History is littered with persons, who have given up their lives rather than act irresponsible or immoral. Successful societies hold people responsible for their own actions.
  Physical and mental cowards shy away from accepting responsibility for their actions. They also allow and encourage others to make immoral and irresponsible decisions. "Real Men and Women" use their past only for understanding themselves and certain influences in their lives. However, "Real Men and Women" then hold themselves accountable to make moral and responsible decisions. They do not tolerate any less from others.
  Aren't you tired of this endless rhetoric that is nothing more than one big excuse for irresponsible behavior? I am! It is my cause to stand up against things irresponsible. I don't want to be buddies with my children, I want to be their father. I don't want to be well liked, I want to be respected for my principles. I am going to say, no to the man who hits a woman; to a child being disrespectful toward an adult; to thief the first time he steals; to a teenager crowding in line at the movies; to the church gossip killing the reputations of others; to sin; and to anyone tolerating immoral and irresponsible behavior.
  Many of you know the basic problem. In my Uncle Tom's words, some chose to do good and some chose to do bad. My grandmother would say some want to go to heaven others to hell. I say their are self centered people, who don't give a damn about anyone or anything, and there are God centered people, who care enough about others enough to act responsibly and morally. Let us call it what it is - Evil (period). And let's start when they are little boys.

Bread is Life in many ways

  A man dying in the vast hot dry desert suddenly found a bottle in the sand. It was empty. He rubbed it against his chest. As he did a vapor cloud and a huge genie pop out of the bottle and said, “For three wishes, I am yours to command.”
  Realizing there were only three he thought carefully and said, “My first wish is to have the greatest riches of every kind in the world - food, drink, women, power.”
  “It is done,” said the genie, and with a snap of fingers the man was transported to a magnificent mansion, clothed in rich raiment, surrounded by adoring beauties who served his every need.    “What is your second wish?” asked the genie.
  “To be once more in the prime of life.” Once again the genie snapped his fingers and the man became a magnificent specimen of a man surround by power and beauty.
  “What do you want for your last wish?” asked the genie again.
  The man knew this would be his last so he thought carefully and finally declared, “I have everything I have always wanted but since I have one last wish, there is something I have always wanted - make me a perfect malted milk shake.” And in a snap of his fingers there was the mansion, the women, the money and on the couch in the middle of everything where the young man had been sitting was the world's most perfect malted milk shake.
The moral?
What you eat is always food for thought. How much you eat is food for strength.
  “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” - Savarin in The Physiology of Taste 1825

   During World War II a group of Jewish orphans at a convent could not go to sleep at night. It puzzled the sisters until one realized they were frightened of what each tomorrow would bring. That night each child was given a slice of bread to take to bed. The children all slept through the night. They knew they would have bread in the morning and would not be hungry the next day.
  “All forms of government fall when it comes up to the question to bread - bread for the family, something to eat. Bread to a man with a hungry family comes first - before his union, before his citizenship, before his church affiliation. Bread!” - John L. Lewis
  Bread is central to the Biblical message. In the wilderness they received a bread from heaven - manna. Bread was un-leaven to remind them that they had to leave Egypt in a hurry. Some bread was round, some in loaves and some in heart shape. It was essential to everyday life as well as the farmers and soldiers in the field. It was a gift for strangers. It was used as the spoon, when eating.
  Bread is the focus of many today. We work to make more bread. We break bread together. Bread is and always has been central to life on this planet. The essentials for life are water and bread and clothing and a house to cover one's nakedness, but we cannot live by physical bread alone!
 The Christ declares that he is the bread of life. Do you want a slice or a loaf? Do you want only enough to get you through the night? A slice!
  So many times we take part in Communion and only want a slice. We leave church a malted milk shake. A little peace, some assurance about heaven and a possibility that maybe God loves me.    Today as always The Christ offers each of us the whole loaf. Peace of mind, assurance of an eternal life beyond the grave and knowledge that God loves me - total acceptance by God just as I am today.
   So slice Or loaf? i.e. “do you want the whole thing?” Jesus [his principles or example] is not something you make a sandwich out of in life. We don't take our world and wrap it with a Jesus roll. We make Jesus [his principles and examples] our life support to live in this world. He is our bread and the world is his butter.
  Perspective: Jesus is the bread of life, but God is the giver of life. The next time you take communion please remember we partake of Jesus the bread and worship God the baker.
 Through the bread we learn about the baker. In the bread we find the ingredients of the meaning of life used in the recipe of the Creator.
 A slice allows you to learn about Jesus. The whole loaf gives us knowledge of God. Don't settle for less. Make all your wishes count. Yet the question remains, Slice or Loaf? Part of God or all of God. Live a little of a Godly life or jump in fully feet first that is the question!
  The Bread of Life, Christ Jesus, was prepared by God to be a banquet not a snack tray. It is above all affiliations. It brings peace at night. It sustains and strengthens your every effort. Are you getting enough bread today?

The Real Clowns of God

  A favorite book is "The Clowns of God" by Morris West, author of  "The Shoes of the Fisherman".  A favorite song is "Where are the Clowns" by Barbara Streis, especially the closing line, "bring on the clowns. (pause) don't bother they're here". In my office is a bust of the famous  clown Emmett Kelly.
  Clowns have an important place in my life. They catch me when I take myself or life to seriously. Times when a person’s remark lifts me to the mountain top or plunges me to the valley floor. Whether I am going up or going down the frowning smile on Emmett's face reminds me there are downs after ups and ups after downs, or "Relax! This too shall pass."
  Periodically, I have been known to mutter things like, "Mmmm just once I would like to have access to the clowns, who allow all the Congressional waste.”  Or even closer to home, " Lord,  I’d like a long talk with the clowns who let the church fall into the hands of those bunch of clowns." Then a lovely voice whispers in my ear, "don't bother they are here." My own ignorance and apathy allows them, the clowns, to remain in power. The song ministers to me, as it seemingly says, "Relax! All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
  The active pastoral ministry has been a great joy as well as a great sadness. Joy because people are always searching for God and the truth about God. Sadness because within the denominations of Christianity we still bicker amongst ourselves while the world drifts farther away. Heaven forbid, in just our little area alone, we have divided so much we now have about six Methodist Churches, five Presbyterian, five Assembly of God, twenty-eight Baptist, three Christian, thirteen Church of Christ and about thirty assorted others, and still dividing and multiplying.
  Who is causes these divisions among the people of God? In "The Clowns of God" the main character discovers the culprits are the petty church leaders, pushed by a thirst for power and hunger for financial security. They habitually do peculiar and selfish things contrary what to is good for the whole body of believers in God's kingdom.
  These little power centered creatures, who by selective reading reject the whole of the gospel of God to worship their petty little religious corner of the world, are called "the clowns of God". Morris West seemingly is saying, "Relax! Different gifts and workings, but the same Spirit and Lord."
  Clowns can be funny or sad. Clowns can be out there or in here. Clowns can be me or you. My guess is, God probably sees us all as clowns in life's circus.
  When our God says, "This too shall pass", is it said with light humor or with profound sincerity? I have heard it both ways. At times the message is "don't sweat the small stuff, look at the big picture." Other times, while in the depths of despair, the arm of God seems to slip around my shoulders with a comfort that says, "Hang in there, there is nothing in life that you and I can't handle together." Do you think Emmett taught that to God or God to Emmett?
  Did you ever suspect that when God informs us, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," there follows at times a "heavenly chuckle"? For certain there is a chuckle when a clown of God, who thinks he or she has a direct link to the truth, is informed they are also sinners! History of God's people has demonstrated over and over that the holier than thou people were usually the first ones who yelled, "Crucify Him!"  They are the true terrorists.
  Sad but true, some clowns wear smiles on their faces and frowns in their hearts. A funny word here might be hypocrite, phoney or pharisee. God just laughs a belly laugh at self righteousness.
  When God declares, "Different gifts and workings, but the same Spirit and Lord." It is not funny to oppose or alter that principle. The clowns who put denomination or theology or practice above the whole people of God are not funny. They wear frowns on their faces and frowns in their hearts. God definitely frowns on their behavior. These clowns of God drive away the followers of God and replace them with clown followers. No it is not funny! It's a cult of clowns.
  So, Dennis, quit clowning around and get to the point. You got it! First, life is too short to take yourself too serious. Put on a happy face and a happy heart. Loosen up, God loves you! Second, we are all the same, we want love and freedom from death. Relax with the knowledge that in God's eyes you are normal! Finally, the clowns were allowed to divide the church universal (body of Christ). God wants us to stop clowning around and bring the people of God together again. God wants a family reunion. So bring on all the clowns,(pause) don't bother we are all here.
 
 

The True Judgement Seat

Tired of reading about what is bad with people? Did you know God only judges us on our holiness (goodness)? There are no heavenly scales that weigh our good acts against our bad. God addresses solely the goodness in our lives at the judgement seat.
  This seat as identified in Scripture in the Book of  Revelation is solely for those people, who have successfully finished a race. They come and stand in front of the judgement seat to receive their awards for performance.
  In the Christian faith and most all other faiths the only people, who finish the race are the ones, who have somehow gained eternal life and citizenship in the Kingdom of Light (Kingdom of God). In the Christian gospels, they are the ones, who have been born from above (“born again” is an inappropriate translation). They are the ones, according to Jesus, who love God above all things and their neighbor as themselves. Jesus understood the Holy Spirit is needed to do those two things.  The same Spirit that gives eternal life.
  At judgement, God will judge us as to how much of our lives we have turned over to the control of the Spirit. In other words, how holy are we?  Which is truly good news, when compared with the works concept which balances good against the bad. Oh, I know there are people, who believe their good works out weigh their bad works. In the Spiritual realm they are immature beings, who actually believe they can gain eternal life on their own faith. They totally ignore the essential place of God’s Spirit in the great scheme of things.
   Whenever we pray believing and ask God to forgive us, God is just and forgives us. Now comes the tremendous news of God’s grace. When God forgives a person, it is forgotten about for all eternity. It is gone! It is out of my life! This constant cleansing allows God’s people to work more on their goodness, instead of agonizing over their badness. That’s the basic good news I find in Christ Jesus, who God used to make this extra-ordinary formula work.
   For this reason God challenges us to love one another. By this God means not judge, which means no evaluation or concern for my negative side, because that is between me and God. Instead we accept people for the goodness they have, no matter what level it has obtained.
  What a wonderful world! A place where we only see good in people! Children will no longer tease others for their imperfections. Adults will not go to war to prove others wrong.  People of God will join hands and let their light outshine all the darkness of this world. Yeah, I like that idea.  We only deal with the good, just like God does it.

Father Abraham's Children (all of them)

  Each day I awake and think, "I don't have a clue!" A clue to what it really takes to be a child of God in this life. Each day I awake and wish I had enough faith to be a disciple of the Christ. You know a follower, one who tries to discipline themselves after the teachings of Christ Jesus. Historically they have been called Christians and God's people.
  Paul taught that a person is justified before God by faith,  independent from any obedience to the law. Baptism of any type, works, and any religious practices are only responses to our salvation. It is faith alone that saves us. For no one can confess Jesus as Lord except through the gift of faith from God's Holy Spirit.
  If we want such a faith, one that relies fully on God (like Abraham) and frees us from the pressure of trying to justify and save ourselves (religious law), we begin by admitting openly and honestly that none of us has enough faith (at least all the time) to either justify or save ourselves.  Our daily prayers are, "I believe. Help me in my unbelief." If we truly have faith we are praying each day to receive faith.
  Such a faith (trust in God's love) becomes possible when we put ourselves in a situation or position in which we hear and experience God's love over and over again. Such a place is in the middle of God's children, who are descendants of Father Abraham. They are the historical community of faith. Today we call it the church universal or people of God.
  In short each of us, who don't have a clue, admit our faith comes totally from God. It, not works, keeps us in the universal community of faith.
A community that includes all children of Abraham: Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, as well as their descendants.
  Christ Jesus acknowledged he came to fulfill the covenant of Abraham. Christians believe he was the worlds Passover lamb. As that lamb of God, Jesus made salvation by faith a reality for the people of Abraham. He was the Christ or Messiah in Jewish history.
  Do you acknowledge you do not have enough faith? Not a clue? If so you are on the first leg of being a descendant of Abraham. Do you accept the gift of faith from God, since on your own you have none? If yes, do you understand you now belong to the community of faith and are a member of the covenant people of God as was  promised to Father Abraham?
  If you so will you now put yourself into a position in that community where you must have faith? Where God can use you as a member of his covenant people. Those who totally rely on God to fulfill their call or purpose in life. Our Father Abraham did.
  Admitting you don't have a clue is the first act of humility. Humility is required if God is to ever use you, like he used Father Abraham. Even Jesus recognized this shining example of the faith God seeks in people. His life fulfilled this covenant relationship. As disciples we are to follow his example. So growth begins with, "I don't have a clue!"

Lent is a different view

  Tradition! Tradition! Sings the Fiddler on the Roof. And no season holds more tradition for the majority of Christians than the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. There are five main traditions within this period: Ash Wednesday (which is Wednesday February 13th this year); Lent (40 days till Easter not counting Sundays); Palm Sunday (Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem); Holy Week (includes Maundy Thursday [Last Supper] and Good Friday [Crucifixion] ending with Easter (Resurrection).
   Ash Wednesday : The ashes remind us at the beginning of Lent that none of us have ever done a great work in the church. If the world applauds you for your Christian work, humility helps us to remember that it was work was done by God.  We just happen to be the instrument of choice at that particular moment. The ultimate humility of the ashes is a gentle reminder that we are not Gods and therefore we do not know what is best for others. We leave that to be between them and their God. The final sign of humility associated with the ashes is the words ashes to ashes spoken at most funerals. They remind us that no matter what we think about how great we are, it doesn’t mean a thing at death. Only God controls that part of our lives.
   Lent: Lent is the only path to Easter. It is a special time for prayer, meditation and confession.  During this period many people will fast in some fashion or another during the forty days till Easter. Sundays are not included in Lenten practices. By the way Lent comes from a Middle English term “Lente” or “Springtime.” Hence this is a period of spiritual renewal.
  Palm Sunday: This is a day when we remember in humility how Jesus made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The same people, who later cried “Crucify Him!” were standing on the sides of the rode waving palm branches. The waved palm branches to honor royalty. The shouted Hosanna, which means God save us!
  Holy Week: We remember the last week of Jesus on Earth. On Maundy or Whits Thursday we remember the last supper in the upper room and Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Friday is remembered as God’s Friday or Good Friday when Jesus was crucified. We believe he was the Passover Lamb for the whole world.
  Easter: This important season of tradition ends with celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, whom we declare to be the Christ.
  In summary we begin with humility, practice repentance and a renewal of our spiritual nature, experience the work and sufferings of Jesus, and end with a victory over death! It is a unique time and yes it is something we should do all year long. However, we are human and it is good to have special days during the year.

What is an inauguration?

January 20 has an interesting history to a word always used on that day - inauguration. This history might help you understand what is said at any inauguration in our nation's capital. It has helped me better understand some of my favorite inauguration remarks. We'll look at those after scanning the history of the word inauguration.
  In ancient Rome, an "augur" foretold the future by observing the flight of birds. The augur's method of forecasting reflected the root of the word, which at that time meant literally "One who performs with birds." It evolved into the verb "inaugurare" or "foretell the future from the flight of birds." This verb was applied to the installation of someone in office after the appropriate omens had been determined. Since then we have lost the association of this action with forecast or birds.
  But let me suggest that the original intent of those ancients is quite appropriate today. Words spoken by several of our Presidents have seem to be for the birds (sometimes eagles, other times Dodo birds) and indicators of where our nation was headed at the time. It also in retrospect forecasted what our nation was about to face.
  The one closes to my heart was John F Kennedy, even though he kept the Corps of Cadets standing in freezing weather for two hours before he made his belated entrance. Once he found his position on the podium he uttered his famous eagle words, "Ask not what you country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." JFK seem to recognize that our nation was heading toward being a society in which individuals expected the government to take care of them. He was saying look to serve, not to be serve.
  Other birds (turkeys) of our nation were outraged at JFK's remarks as an "augur" and before his term was up they silenced his voice. Since then we have become a nation heavily influenced with me first people. Industrial leaders are me first when the give or receive huge incomes and bonuses for being fired or doing an average job. Poor people are me first people when the lose all incentive to pull themselves up by their own boot straps. The average citizen is a me first person, when they say to heck with being evolved in life and curl up on the couch with their remote control.
  Inauguration day can be a day when we forecast the future by watching the birds. Remember the words of Harry S Truman? "The supreme need of our time is for men to learn to live together in peace and harmony." Dwight D. Eisenhower reminded us that, "whatever America hopes to pass into the world must first come to pass in the heart of America." Eagles speaking at a time when this nation was seeking to be eagles, a nation of self sustained people.
  Today let us hope that the President from Hawaii sees a bright future for us after observing our flight in life. Does this President see us as a nation seeking to soar to new and greater heights? Does he see us concerned with not only other people, but the preservation and development of our resources. Resources that stretch from what we find in the ground to what we find in the people and from industry to education and from service to technology.
  If President Obama sees this in our nation, then we must fly with him to new heights far above any self centered political agendas promoted by the turkeys in our society. You know the ones, they say things like "Me, me, me, me, me," and could care less about "you, you, you, you, you." If our augur can see the eagles, it will be a great four years. If not it will be four years of turkey baloney.
  As a patriot who believes in Duty, Honor, Country I pray the Republican and Democratic eagles take us to new heights and don’t let the any of the Republican or Democratic turkeys drag us down. Let this inauguration lift us as a nation, so we can again soar with wings of eagles in the future!